Designation of presiding officer.

(a) Hearing proceedings will be conducted by a presiding officer. The designated presiding officer will be identified in the order designating a matter for hearing. Only the Commission, one or more commissioners, or an administrative law judge designated pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 3105 may be designated as a presiding officer. Unless otherwise stated, the term presiding officer will include the Commission when the Commission designates itself to preside over a hearing proceeding. (b) If a presiding officer becomes unavailable during the course of a hearing proceeding, another presiding officer will be designated. (5 U.S.C. 556; 47 U.S.C. 154, 159, 208, 209, 214, 309, 312, 316, and 409) [85 FR 63176, Oct. 6, 2020]